THE MAN GOD USES – CHAPTER IX – Oswald J Smith

THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS

THERE are many to whom Jesus Christ is Saviour but not Lord; many who have been saved by Jesus who have never recognized Him as Master. But not until He has been given that place will He be satisfied. In Luke 14:25, He lays down the terms of discipleship. But first of all let me say that to be a disciple in the true sense of the word means much more than forgiveness. A disciple is a learner, one who follows after and who recognizes another as master.

In the second place let me say that the Lord Jesus Christ has the absolute right to lay down the terms upon which He will accept followers as His disciples. In the days of the Great War when conscription was in vogue, men were compelled to serve whether they wanted to or not, but before the days of conscription every man had the privilege of deciding for himself. Now the government had the right to lay down the terms upon which men would be enlisted as soldiers, but the man himself after reading the terms had the power to accept or reject as he saw fit. That did not mean that he was no longer a citizen of his country. It simply meant that he refused to serve.

And, so with you my friend. You may belong to Jesus Christ and be a citizen of heaven and still refuse to acknowledge Him as your Lord and Master and place yourself under His orders in glad obedience. You may be saved and yet not be a disciple.

Now let us look at the passage in Luke 14:25-27. It reads as follows: “And there went great multitudes with them: and He turned and said unto them.” I wonder what you would have done? What would you have said? If I know anything about human nature you would have spoken words to please your followers. But Jesus Christ never hid the cross. If the road was thorny He always said so.

“If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be my disciple.” “But,” you exclaim, “does Jesus Christ mean that a man must hate his loved ones in order to be His disciple?” Let us turn to Matt. 10:37. Here we have the same term of discipleship but in somewhat different language. It reads thus: “He that loveth father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

What, then, are the terms of discipleship? Let me give the answer in just two words: “GOD FIRST.” And if I could, I would put them on a banner in the sight of every congregation in the world-GOD FIRST.

Now let us ask ourselves some very plain questions. Does God come first in my life or does business hold the supreme place? Is it God first or pleasure? God first or money? What about my family, my loved ones? Do they come first or does God? All difficulties can thus be solved and all problems settled. No longer do I need to ask: Is it right to go here or there? May I take part in this pleasure or that? One decision only: God First!

I remember a mother who would not put God first, and today the body of her daughter lies in the cemetery. She had asked her mother if she might answer God’s call and go to the foreign field. The mother agreed on condition that she would continue to work for three or four months. Then at the end of that time she went back on her word, broke her promise and refused to let her daughter go. Less than a year passed before God whom she would not recognize as Lord, came and took her daughter to Himself. Now the man who puts God first in his life and takes up the cross to faithfully follow his Lord and Master will have fulfilled the first conditions of discipleship.

“Where He leads me I will follow, I’ll go with Him all the way.”

The last condition of discipleship is found in Luke 14:33. It reads as follows: “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” “But,” you exclaim, “that condition is almost impossible to meet. Do you mean to say that God asks His followers to literally forsake everything? If so, then I am not His disciple, for I still have a home, a wife and a small bank account. Am I to forsake these? “

In the Revised Version you will find that the word “forsake” has been translated “renounce.” Now let us read it: “Whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” It is thing to renounce; it is another to forsake. God demands that His children renounce everything, whereas He may ask them to actually forsake very few of the things they have renounced.

To renounce a thing means to relinquish all claim. The best example is probably found in Acts 4:32: “Neither said any of ‘them that aught of the things that he possessed was his own.”

Nothing that I am or own belongs to me. All is God’s. He allows me the use of it as it pleases Him, but He has the first, the supreme claim. Recognizing that, I gladly place all at His disposal, take my hands off, and own Him as Lord. Having definitely relinquished all claim. I deliberately turn my back on everything. Thus I renounce all that I am and have. It is no longer mine but God’s. Henceforth He has the absolute right to do what He likes with it, and if at any time He should call upon me to literally forsake what I have renounced I must not even murmur or complain. I give Him all my children. He may take one or none to the foreign field and thus demand that I forsake those whom I have already renounced. So with my money and everything else.

No sooner will I renounce all than God will test me to see if my renunciation is genuine. It was so with Abraham. He had renounced Isaac, recognizing that he belonged to God alone. Then God demanded the sacrifice on Mount Moriah and Abraham never flinched.⁷⁹ His renunciation was thereby proven to be genuine. It will not be hard when the test comes if the renunciation has been real. But if it has only been a fake the testing time will be terrible, and in all probability the thing that was supposed to have been renounced will be taken back. Discipleship demands renunciation.

Remember, Jesus must be Lord of all, or not Lord at all. No man ever works for two firms at the same time. No slave owns two masters at once. Beware, lest when you give Him a secondary place as you think, you awaken some day when it is too late to discover that He is not there at all⁸⁰ . For He must be Lord of all, or not Lord at all. “No man can serve two masters.” ⁸¹

“Suffer me first,” ⁸²said the young man to Jesus. Oh no, not “me first “-God First! My interests must always come second to His; never first. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.” ⁸³

Dr. Graham Scroggie, of Edinburgh, was one time speaking along this line, and at the close of the service he was approached by a young woman, a professing Christian, who had been greatly stirred.

“And why don’t you yield?” inquired Dr. Scroggie. “I am afraid I would have to do two things if I did,” responded the girl.

“What are they? ” questioned the minister.

“I play the piano in a concert hall, and I fear I would have to give it up,” explained the inquirer.

“And the other? “

” I am afraid God would send me to China as a missionary.”

Dr. Scroggie was wise in his dealings with the anxious. Opening his Bible at Acts 10:14, he explained to the young woman the absurdity of Peter’s answer. A slave never dictates. And to say, “Not so,” and then add the word “Lord,” was impossible.

“Now,” said Dr. Scroggie, “I want you to cross out the two words, “Not so,” and leave the word “Lord”; or else cross out “Lord” and leave “not so.” Handing her his pencil he quietly walked away.

For two hours she struggled. Then he returned. Looking over her shoulder he saw a tear- stained page but the words “Not so” were crossed out. With glad light in her eyes she left the church and went home repeating over and over the one word, ”Lord.” No longer would she dictate. She was now His disciple and He her Lord and Master. Henceforth it would be, “Even so, Father,” and “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?”

“Lovest thou Me more than these?” ⁸⁴ And I can imagine Jesus pointing to the boats and nets, then to the other disciples, and finally to Peter’s home and loved ones. “Peter, who comes first? Do I? Lovest thou Me more than these?” And that is the question He is asking still. Shall we, then, yield all, and crown Him Lord?

“All hail the power of. Jesus’ Name!
Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
And crown Him Lord of all.”

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79 Genesis 22:1-­‐2
80 Judge 16:19-­‐20
81 Matthew 6:24
82 Matthew 8:21
83 Matthew 6:33
84 John 21:15

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